Amazon refutes Kindle airport X-ray damage reports

If you are one of the many people who own an Amazon Kindle e-reader device perhaps because it was the cheaper option when deciding which one to buy, it could end up costing you in the long run especially if you happen to travel through airports a lot. According to a handful of travelers, their Kindles were damaged by the scanners at the airports that they were required to put them through, resulting in permanent damage.

A swarm of complaints had accused the radiation from the X-ray scanners at the airport to be the cause for the E-ink displays on their devices being frazzled, saying they worked fine before they passed through them. Amazon of course refutes such claims saying there are many devices which also use E-ink that are not affected by the scanners. The forums at the company also seem to be complaint free.

Michael Hart, from London was one of these unfortunate travelers who accused the airport equipment of doing the damage, claiming ‘I had been reading an e-book on the way to the airport so I knew there could be no other reason.’ He believes a higher dosage of X-ray than usual was used in his case which resulted in the display of his Kindle being damaged.

According to ITProPortal experts believe the damage caused in these freak cases has nothing to do with the X-ray in the scanner, but that the static charge build-up caused from the rubber belts rubbing is more likely the culprit for the damage. Advanced Photonics expert Professor Daping Chu says the ‘airport X-ray scanners are not powerful enough to damage the display.’

What do you think could be the cause for the damage? Have you ever had any problems like this with your Kindle?